Toilet Options for Tiny House Rentals

It doesn’t take long for people who join the tiny house movement and are interested in a THOW (Tiny House on Wheels) to ask “what are my toilet options?” I (and most other tiny house owners) have literally done more research on poop receptacles than most people ever will. What’s more is that most of us will have to get a lot more comfortable with human waste than most people ever will too. If you’re hoping to rent out a tiny house or alternative dwelling where flushing toilets that connect to the city plumbing or a septic system isn’t an option, you’re going to appreciate this post.

Over the past few years, more options have hit the market to help address the “waste management” issues associated with mobile/alternative dwellings. This post will address the ones currently available and then I’ll give you my personal recommendation.

The Lovable Loo

This my friends, is a 5-gallon bucket. Believe it or not, the brave souls that have gone this route rarely have a bad thing to say about it. People apparently LOVE pooping in a bucket! You think I’m kidding but I’m not. I have rarely EVER, in my three years as a member of the tiny house movement, heard a negative thing about this basic but effective toilet option from people who have actually used it.

There is a ton of review information out there, as well as a very handy book dedicated to the topic, but perhaps my favorite resource is this post comparing the various “cover” materials. That info is GOLD.

Pros: Cheap- from a cost perspective, it’s a very inexpensive option. Easy to use- just do your thang and cover it with a scoop of your cover material. It’s small and can fit almost anywhere. It doesn’t require plumbing or installation of any kind. Done right, it supposedly doesn’t stink. You can also improve the smell situation by diverting the liquids with a urine diverter.

Cons: Guest acceptance. Having used the Dry Flush toilet (discussed below) for over a year with various levels of guest acceptance, I can ASSURE you this option will not fly with most potential guests. Maintenance with this could get gross. In the traditional use of this method you just wait for the bucket to fill, then place it somewhere it can compost peacefully for 3+ years. Guests aren’t going to be willing to use a bucket left over from another guest, so you’re going to need a fresh bucket for every reservation, and then you’re going to have to find a place to set them. If you live in an urban environment, this will get you a health & safety violation REAL quick.

The Dry Flush

This was the toilet option we started with at Music City Tiny House. We chose it because we had heard that there was a learning curve with high-end composting toilets that had to be conquered before they were odorless, and since guests don’t stay that long, I was afraid it would just always be a smelly experience. We used this toilet for about a year before we installed our composting toilet.

Pros: It’s small, and portable. It doesn’t require any plumbing, just plop it down and use it. We actually kept ours for when we finally get that tear drop camper we’re dreaming of because it can operate from a rechargeable battery.It doesn’t use any water, which is important from an eco-friendly perspective. The toilet experience is mostly similar to the standard toilet experience, it just differs once you get to the flushing and maintenance part.

Cons: Costly to use. Each flush costs about $1, and sometimes guests want to “flush” just to see it go. The bags are also not biodegradable, though they’re apparently trying to develop a biodegradable bag. It’s high-maintenance from the host’s perspective. Each insert will get you about 2 days for two people. A reservation for 4 needs an insert every day. That means as a host you need to be constantly thinking about that bag. Also, since the urine seeps up after the flush (because when the bag wraps around the waste, it can only keep the solids confined in the space-age bag, not the liquids) guests tend to use a TON of toilet paper to cover and absorb the liquid, adding to the expense of the toilet.

These toilets are a type of high-tech toilet that doesn’t use water but relies on the separation of liquid from solids and continuous air flow to create a low-odor toilet experience.

Pros: Guests are generally pretty chill about the experience. The composting bags are comparatively inexpensive AND they’re biodegradable. It doesn’t require water. Can run off solar. Generally only needs to be maintained between stays or every 3-4 days for longer stays. Mostly odorless (except when changing the bag).

Cons: Requires plumbing and installation. They’re comparatively expensive (~$1,000+). Requires some maintenance in that you have to change the bag between each stay (with the Separett). Requires “educating” the guests on how to use it appropriately so that they don’t create a mess. Requires electricity of some sort, whether it’s solar or otherwise.

RV Toilet

These systems require a holding tank, that occasionally need to be emptied.

Pros: The closest experience to the familiar American potty experience. They are clean, compact in size, and easy for guests to use.

Cons: It uses potable water and creates blackwater when used. You then need to figure out what to do with the blackwater, which most often gets held in a “blackwater holding tank” that needs to be pumped, flushed, etc. every so often, which is an odorous experience for everyone involved, including the neighbors, which won’t win you any points.

The Sanitizer

This is the newest kid on the block, and try as I might I have been unable to get much information on it, despite trying for almost two years. I reached out to the company directly to see if they had more pictures, as the only pictures I’ve seen are of the outside, and they said they didn’t (I mean, just go take a picture and send it to me.) I asked if they’d be willing to give me one at a discounted price and beta test it in our tiny house (which gets a TON of potty usage every month) in exchange for a review, posting, and advertising of the product. They told me they don’t do that, but I wasn’t about to spend $2,000 on a toilet that has no street cred in the tiny house community when I have a perfectly suitable toilet option already. So, this is what I know (because it’s what the company tells us).

They describe the toilet like this: “The Sanitizer™ is an appliance that dries and sanitizes solids, evaporates liquids, using air flow and short bursts of heat. The treated matter is disposed of in the household trash. It weighs 43 pounds, needs only to be vented, plugged in and is ready to use. It is mobile, works off of 120-volt wall plugs, generators, and solar power. No special type of toilet paper is needed, there is no composting, no fire, and no chemicals or water. The user will simply empty the waste pan every few days.”

Cons: Since I’ve never used one and the website obviously doesn’t list out the downsides of their product, I can’t really tell you ALL of the cons but I can tell you that it’s expensive, it’s not battle tested as far as I can tell, and from everything I read it seems to be an overpriced cat box with a heat lamp and fan that is designed for people.

Incinerator Toilet

These are available in electric (Incinolet) or propane (Scanlet or Storburn). They use a ton of electricity (about 20amps) but they incinerate waste down to ash. You’re supposed to empty the bowl of ash about 1-2 times a week, depending on usage.

Pros: There’s no water and a very small amount of waste. You don’t need to add any plumbing to the house in order to deal with the waste so it’s completely self-sufficient.

Cons: The first downside is the price point. These things will run you about $2,000. They also use a ton of energy, which is a problem if you’re trying to minimize your utilities or want to go off-grid by using a technology like solar. The worst part, however, is the smell. Please don’t let ANYONE tell you these things don’t stink. There is case study after case study of tiny house dwellers having to rip out their incinerator toilets and find an alternative because of the smell. I mean, would you expect burning poop to be odorless?

My Recommendation.

Go with a high-tech Composting Toilet. We, and a few other tiny house rentals we know of use the Separett and love it. I’ve spoken with some tiny house dwellers who use the Natures Head and they love that too. Sure, you have to change out bags of guest poop after every stay (or every few days for longer stays), but they have almost no odor issues, have a short learning curve which means most guests use them correctly without any issues, they’re ecofriendly, they save on water, are easy to install and are inexpensive to maintain AFTER the initial investment. In my opinion, it’s the one that is best suited for use in situations when you’re hosting paying guests.

What do YOU use in your rental? Did I miss any options? Have a review you’d like to share? Leave it in the comments:)

About Sarah Murphy

Sarah is a graduate of the Masters of Management in Hospitality program at The Cornell Hotel School, thus the term "Hotelie." She's also the owner and operator of Music City Tiny House, a tiny house her and her husband Airbnb to other tiny house enthusiasts in Nashville, TN. Sarah is the Tennessee State Chapter Leader for the American Tiny House Association and is a fierce advocate for legalizing tiny houses in Nashville, and Tennessee as a whole. Sarah is a mother of two beautiful daughters and when she has a spare moment, she enjoys blogging, teaching, public speaking, and crocheting.